Oxfam leaders knew of alleged rapes, woman forced to have sex for aid

Leaders including Oxfam's chief executive Mark Goldring (left) knew about allegations of rape and other widespread sexual misconduct, according to a former worker. (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images)

The chief executive of beleaguered British charity Oxfam knew about allegations of sexual misconduct including rape and a woman coerced to have sex in exchange for aid, according to a former worker.

Helen Evans opened up about her struggles to work as a safeguard against sexual assault at the British-based charity, which has come under scrutiny after reports of staff hiring prostitutes for a "Caligula orgy" in earthquake ravaged Haiti and war-torn Chad.

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She worked in her role from 2012 to 2015, and told Channel 4 that senior leadership including Mark Goldring, the current chief of Oxfam Great Britain, canceled a meeting about her report on widespread abuse.

Allegations in the report included repeated allegations of rape in South Sudan, and a woman who was a beneficiary of Oxfam aid coerced into having sex to receive it.

Oxfam has said that it did not try to cover up the sex party allegations that led to the 2011 departure of Haiti staff including country director Roland van Hauwermiren, who was also in charge in Chad during prostitution allegations in 2006.

Oxfam said that it put in place better systems for dealing with abuse allegations afterwards, though Evans said that leaders, and officials in Britain's charity regulator, did not take the problem seriously.

Oxfam could lose the money it receives from the British government after the growing scandal. (SIMON DAWSON/REUTERS)

Penny Lawrence, the deputy head of Oxfam who communicated with Evans at the time, stepped down on Monday as the scandal continued to roil the organization and threaten its funding from the British government.

Winnie Byanyima, the international director of the group who joined in 2013 and has not been implicated in the lax response, has slammed "a few privileged men abusing the very people they were supposed to protect."

Haitian President Jovenal Moise also waded into the scandal for the first time late Monday, when he posted on Twitter that the abuse in his country was a "extremely serious violation of human dignity."

Beyond the damage to Oxfam as an organization, it is unclear if those involved in prostitution or sexual crimes on their missions will face consequences.

Former United Nations emergencies official Andrew MacLeod said that some staffers in Haiti or Chad could possibly face charges in the United Kingdom under sex tourism laws.